The event marks Strikeforce’s second trip to The Rose City, as the
promotion first visited Portland in 2010 for Challengers 8. That
show saw Oregon native and
UFC veteran Matt
Lindland outpoint Kevin Casey
in the main event on Showtime. The Rose Garden is the home to the
NBA’s Portland Trail Blazers and routinely seats nearly 20,000
spectators during games.

Rockhold, 27, has been beaten just once as a pro and rides an
eight-fight winning streak into the second defense of his
Strikeforce title. The American Kickboxing Academy standout
captured the championship from Ronaldo
Souza in a hard-fought unanimous decision last September and
successfully defended the strap against Jardine on Jan. 7, earning
a first-round knockout over “The Dean of Mean.”

Kennedy will enter the cage five years older than the champion. A
winner in six of his last seven outings, Kennedy previously
challenged Souza for the strap in 2010 only to come up short on the
judges’ scorecards after 25 minutes of combat. The decorated U.S.
Army veteran responded by posting a pair of victories last year,
submitting the hard-hitting Melvin
Manhoef in March before outpointing Lawler on July 30.